Beauty and the Beast – Opheum Theater – Minneapolis MN – August 7th 2025

By Tracy Hansen 7 hours ago

I have to start this by saying that I saw this same musical in the same theater thirty years ago as a kid.  So it was pretty cool getting to see it again.  When I was younger, I sang and danced to the music in this play in a chorus.  I played all the music on the piano hundreds of times.  I listened to the soundtrack nonstop after seeing the movie the day it opened.  So this was like being a child again.

Beauty and the Beast is a musical that does not disappoint.  From the costumes to the musical numbers and more, it’s just amazing.  The visual effects are some to be envied within the theater industry.  At the beginning, for those remembering the story, the old beggar transforms into a beautiful woman.  People around me just gasped upon seeing it.  The same happened at the end when the beast transformed into a prince.
One thing I love about this story is how much it resonates with people of all ages.  When I was younger, my mom loved basically every single iteration of Beauty and the Beast.  That’s how we managed to see this back in 1994, because we didn’t go to the theater often when I was young.  When we went to the show last night, there were so many little girls dressed in yellow Belle dresses.  The woman next to me kept crying in pivotal scenes.  This story is meaningful to so many people.
The two standout numbers for me personally were “Gaston” and “Be Our Guest”.  Both of those numbers were ensemble pieces just full of amazing choreography, music, and color.  They were both so fun. “Gaston” is my personal favorite number, so I just loved it.
I’ll never stop saying that people need to stop talking in the theater.  I know this is a Disney rendition, so it is to be expected that children will be talking.  That isn’t my problem.  I’m talking about adults that talk constantly through the show.  It’s rude, flat out.  Adults need to understand that. At this particular show, there were two women in front of me talking and people a few rows back the entire time.
Getting off of that, I’ll still say, this show was incredible and I’d recommend it to anyone.  It’s a feast for the eyes for adults and children alike.  It’s a classic tale for adults.  For children, it teaches you not to judge a book by its cover.  I feel it is a story that will be told again and again forever because this audience will never tire of it.